Overstock's CEO expects Cryptocurrencies to Rise on Ruins of the Financial System

Our global financial system is so corrupt that it looks like a giant Ponzi scheme that is about to collapse. Once it happens, people will turn to digital money, which will eventually lead to their mass adoption. That's the view aired by CEO of Overstock Patrick Byrne in a recent YouTube interview with Naomi Brockwell.

“People turn to it where they collapse, like Venezuela or Cyprus or Syria, something like that. When people start getting into it is when their own financial systems collapse. So yes, given that I think the entire modern financial system is a big Keynesian, magic money tree Ponzi scheme, I do expect that the day will come when people turn to crypto,” he said.

Being designed as a better alternative to the existing financial regime, cryptocurrencies may serve as a safe haven in times of economic turmoil and a hedge against inflation and financial crisis.

Byrne is not the only one who foresees the imminent collapse of the global financial system and a resulting massive shift to cryptocurrencies. Erik Voorhees, CEO and founder of ShapeShift.io thinks that the US economy will face severe problems due to its ever-growing debt while resulting hyperinflation and devaluation will become an opportunity for the cryptocurrency industry.

"When the next global financial crisis occurs, and the world realizes organizations with $20 trillion in debt can't possibly ever pay it back, and thus must print it instead, and thus fiat is doomed... watch what happens to crypto," he wrote in his Twitter account.

He supports the view that the world will ditch fiat currencies that are printed without end and controlled by governments in favor of crypto money. This shift will be prompted by transparency and the true independence of digital assets.

Even the hardcore crypto skeptic Nouriel Roubini has no illusions upon the sustainability of the American economy.

"The space for fiscal stimulus is already limited by massive public debt. The possibility for more unconventional monetary policies will be limited by bloated balance sheets and the lack of headroom to cut policy rates. And financial-sector bailouts will be intolerable in countries with resurgent populist movements and near-insolvent governments." he wrote in a recent piece.

Third party services may advertise Spread bets and CFDs on Cryptovest, which are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 81% of retail investor accounts lose money when spread betting or trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets or CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.